Arizona Diamondbacks

ESPN Fantasy

SLEEPERChris Young can be a fantasy star right away. He's got the speed to steal 30 bases, the power to hit 20 homers this season, and the center-field gig is his.

BUSTStephen Drew hit .316 as a rookie, but doesn't have the batting eye to repeat it. He's a sophomore slump waiting to happen.

prospects

HITTER TO WATCH: Carlos Gonzalez, OF
Gonzalez has tremendous tools, but is undisciplined and tends to let his game get out of control on him.

PITCHER TO WATCH: Micah Owings, RHP
Owings has just average stuff, but has been a durable starter with excellent control. He'll need to work on keeping the ball down to succeed in Arizona.-- Keith Law, Scouts Inc.

ESPN.com Predictions

Gammons

87-75
2nd in
NL West

Stark

87-75
2nd in
NL West

Crasnick

83-79
2nd in
NL West

Olney

92-70
1st in
NL West

Neyer

86-76
1st in
NL West

Kurkjian

83-79
3rd in
NL West

Phillips

78-84
4th in
NL West

Law

90-72
1st in
NL West

Caple

92-70
1st in
NL West

Karabell

81-81
4th in
NL West

MLB Preview 2007

FIXED
Arizona pitchers, especially Brandon Webb and Livan Hernandez, love throwing to Chris Snyder, who replaces Johnny Estrada. There's nothing more comforting to a pitcher than a catcher who can call and run a game. "Chris is a stud," says Bob Melvin. Snyder spent the winter kickboxing and extreme fighting to improve the strength and flexibility of his lower half. "At the
beginning, I couldn't go two rounds," he says. "My shins were so swollen I had to lie on a couch with a bag of frozen carrots on one shin and a bag of frozen peas on the other." Fresh legs won't be a problem this season for
Snyder; fresh vegetables are another story.

NEEDS FIXING
Closer Jose Valverde tore through the league early in 2006, but a teammate says, "We couldn't believe he was getting people out. He was right down the middle. It was smoke and mirrors." That smoke became a fire, Valverde was sent to the minors, and the D-Backs fell out of contention. He gets another chance, because he has dumped a cutter that didn't cut, and he's going with his two best pitches: fastball and splitter. Now about that location.

MIDSEASON FIX
Top prospect Justin Upton is only 19. But Carlos Gonzalez, also a five-tool outfielder, had a huge winter in Venezuela and could force his way into the picture with a fast start.-- Tim Kurkjian

ESPN SPORTSNATION

You can label D-Backs ownership "incompetent" (fans seem to), but they're not hypocrites. As payroll slashing continues -- managing general partner Ken Kendrick recently admitted to $98M of deferred salary owed on top of a $200M debt -- at least the front office doesn't ask fans to outspend them. The seventh-cheapest cost-per-season tab in baseball ($2,787.33) reflects savings being passed on to fans.